The rise of Muslim ecological paradigm in the discourse of environmental governance

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The rise of Muslim ecological paradigm in the
discourse of environmental governance

• Dr. M. Saidul Islam
• Assistant Professor
• Division of Sociology
• Nanyang Technological University
• Email msaidul_at_ntu.edu.sg

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Outlines

• Background
• Environmentalism
• Ideology of Environmentalism
• Dynamic History, Static Positions
• Muslim Ecological Paradigm
• Conclusion

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1. Background

• Each day humans
• consume 54 of the accessible runoff water on
  earth
• mine more materials from the earth than the
  natural erosion of all earths rivers
• add over 15 million tons of carbon to the
  atmosphere
• destroy 180 square miles of tropical rain forests
• create over 60 square miles of desert
• eliminate at least 74 animal or plant species
• erode 70 to 80 million tons of topsoil
• add around 1,400 tons of CFCs to the stratosphere
  
• Also
• Nearly 70,000 chemical products have been
  introduced since World War II 1,500 new ones are
  added each year.
• Total U.S. production of chemicals amounts to
  over 300 million tons annually.
• In 1994, 22,744 facilities of U.S. released 2.26
  billion pounds of listed toxic chemicals into the
  environment.

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1. Background

• RESULT? Planet in Peril
• Climate change, disaster vulnerabilities, loss
  of biodiversity, fatal diseases, environmental
  refugees
• HOW TO ADDRESS? Environmental governance
• Sustainable development discourse
• Green discourse
• Ecological modernization
• Environmentalism

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2. Environmentalism

• Environmentalism is one of the trajectories in
  the study of environmental governance.
• A broad philosophy social movement.
• Dynamic, pervasive, transnational and
  multi-dimensional.
• A social program
• Western in origin (?)

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2. Environmentalism
1962
1970
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2. Environmentalism
1801-1882
John Muir (1838-1914)
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2. Environmentalism
Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862)
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3. Ideology of Environmentalism

• Human is not off nature, but of nature.
• Not above nature, but a part of it.
• From ego-centric to eco-centric life.
• Think globally, act locally.
• Spaceship earth.
• The common heritage of humanity.
• Pollution does not respect national border.
• We have not inherited the earth from our parents
  weve borrowed from our children.
• The tragedy of the commons
• The world is enough for everybodys need, but not
  enough for one persons greed.
• A shift from Human Exemptionalist Paradigm (HEP)
  to New Ecological Paradigm (NEP).

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4. Dynamic history, static position

• Common markers
• No clear beginning.
• Emerged as a response to the negative impacts of
  industrialization on environment.
• Histories were written by Americans.
• For the American audience.
• They all stop in 1970s.
• They disregarded Environmentalism of the Poor.
• No attention to the outdated and dark phases
  of society and history.

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm (MEP)

• MEP as a Philosophy
• More common than you think
• Earth (ard) appears 485 time in the Quran
• Charity to creatures has rewards
• All creatures have similar rights over nature
• Preservation of water is a worship
• Islam forbids water pollution
• Islam forbids air pollution
• Islam endorses the transformation of wilderness
  into agriculture and cattle pastures
• Earth as the first mother
• Humans have rights over the earth, and the earth
  has the rights over humans

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm

• Kindness to animals not to kill animals for
  amusements
• Moderation in life neither luxury nor
  miserliness
• Kindness to animals is an article of faith
• Two stories in prophetic tradition
• Hima (wildlife conservation) in Islam
• Islamic science no tension between science and
  nature
• Islam on consumer waste
• Purity of human life
• Improving greenery

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm

• MEP as a movement/activism Change through
  actions and movements
• Intellectual movement led by Seyyed Hossein Nasr
  (George Washington University)
• Green Muslims, Green Iftaar, Green Dinner
  (Washington DC)
• Eco-Halal (Muslims in Chicago)
• Green Mosque (The ADAMS Center in Virginia,
  5,000 families)
• Green Ramadan, Green Khutbah (Council of
  Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago)
• Green Haj (Islamic Foundation for Ecology and
  Environmental Sciences, UK)
• Eco-warriors, First Eco-City (Indonesia)
• The worlds first Islamic conservation guide
  (Zanzibar, Africa)
• The first Muslim Theology of the Sea, (written
  and designed by Fazlun Khalid and Ali Thani, was
  published in May 2008 by IFEES).

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm

• Some Muslim Organizations Focusing on
  Environment
• Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural
  Organization (ISESCO)
• Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America 
• Islamic Research Foundation International, Inc
  (IRFI) 
• World Federation of Muslim Youth 
• LINE (London Islamic Network for the
  Environment) 
• The Seyyed Hossein Nasr Foundation
• Islamic Relief Worldwide
• Islamic Environmental Club 
• Muslim Associations for Climate Change Action
  (MACCA)
• Wisdom in Nature (WIN)
• The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and
  Environmental Sciences (IFEES)
• Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC)
• Africa Muslim Environment Network (AMEN)

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm

• Environmental groups/organizations in the Arab
  world
• Arab region as a whole
• Arab Water Council (AWC)
• Regional Organization for the Protection of the
  Marine Environment
• 2. Jordan
• Jordan Badia Research and Development Centre
  (BRDC)
• Jordan Environment Society (JES)
• Jordanian Environmental Watch Program
• The Jordan Society for Sustainable Development
  (JSSD)
• The Jordanian Network For Environmentally
  Friendly Industries (JNEFI)
• The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature
  (RSCN)
• Wild Jordan (WJ)
• 3. Kuwait
• Eco-Environmental Consultants
• Environment Public Authority
• ROPME Regional Organization for the Protection
  of the Marine Environment Kuwait
• The Kuwait Turtle Conservation Project

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm

• Environmental groups/organizations in the Arab
  world
• 4. Qatar
• Friends of the Environment Center
• Law No. 30 of 2002 Law of Environment
  Protection
• Qatar Chemical Company Ltd.
• Qatargas Company
• RasGas Company
• The Supreme Council for the Environment and
  National Sanctuaries
• Saudi Arabia
• Arabian Environmental Science Ltd Company
  (Arensco)
• Environmental Technology Management Association
  
• Saudi Arabian Water Environment Association
• Saudi Gulf Environmental Protection Co. (SPECO
  Environment)
• 6. United Arab Emirate
• Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital
• Environment Agency Abu Dhabi
• Global Engineering Systems FZC

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5. Muslim Ecological Paradigm

• Environmental groups/organizations in the Arab
  world
• 7. Yemen
• Water and Environment
• 8. Egypt
• Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency
• 9. Tunisia
• The Mediterranean Renewable Energy Centre
  (MEDREC)
• 10. Oman
• Environment Society of Oman
• 11. Bahrain
• Universe Environment Bahrain B.S.C.

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6. Conclusion

• There can be an ontological alliance between
  modern environmentalism and MEP.
• Environment will be the most crucial issue in
  international relations and for the future world.
  
• Solidarity with MEP?

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• Thank you so much!!